We'll be spending a long weekend in Switzerland (as part of a longer vacation) and looking for a beautiful, luxurious place to stay with our 18-month-old. Would prefer somewhere where there's a lot to do onsite or nearby - more interested in being outdoors (on a lake, hiking, etc.) than siteseeing.
Thanks!
Sara

Hi nico_sara,

On a lake -- Montreux, Vevey, or Morges on Lake Geneva; Sils on Silvaplanersee or St Moritz on St. Moritzersee; Luzern on Lake Luzern; Brienz on Brienzersee, Thun or Spiez on Thunersee; Locarno on Lago Maggiore . . . endless possibilities!

Can you tell us where you're coming from and going to? Easy/difficult routing may be a factor.

Finally, would you like to experience French, Italian, or German Switzerland?

Help us help you!

s

Thanks for answering! We'll be coming from and returning to Paris and would like to take the train. We'll also be meeting up with family who live in Geneva. As for which part of Switzerland, we really don't have a preference.
Sara

Hi nico_sara,

Well, great! I think the easiest location would be Lake Geneva, a quick (4-hour) TGV ride from Paris. Whether you stay in Montreux, Vevey, Lausanne, or Morges will be a difficult decision though.

I've never been to Lausanne (except to change trains); big cities don't interest me at all. So I'll not comment on the advantages of staying here.

Montreux (pop. 22,000) is the most touristed of the towns (vice Lausanne the city), with its many hotels and shops and cafes. But that can be a good thing! Montreux draws a lot of visitors to its 11-km flowered lakeside walkway and its laid-back lifestyle.

Vevey (pop. 16,000) is smaller, with an interesting old town very near the lakefront. The lakefront walkway isn't as long, has majestic trees instead of flowers, and has fewer lakeside cafes. You may consider Vevey more "local" in flavor or maybe more "old money" than Montreux.

Morges (pop. 5,000) hasn't been discovered yet by American tourists, I think. I just found it when a poster here was investigating its springtime tulip festival; I visited and just fell in love with the place. I was there on a weekend, and I thought the families on the lakeside might have been in from Geneva for the day or maybe in from Paris for the weekend. Its main street is cobbled and lined with cafes and patisseries and shops, and its beautiful park (where the tulip festival is held) runs next to the lake. There aren't as many hotels here, of course, but it's just charming. There's a flowered lakeside walkway that signs say runs all the way to Lausanne (haven't tried it yet), and the tourist office has information on walks up into the hills around the town of Apples or the lakeside town of St Prex.

If you decide to go to Lake Geneva, these activities may interest you:

The vineyards of the Lavaux, between Lausanne & Montreux -- 32 km of walkways past caves with tastings, etc.

The castle of Chillon, naturally, outside of Montreux.

Renting a bicycle and cycling the 11 kms from Clarens to Villeneuve, passing Chillon enroute. Or you could cycle the 32 kms of vineyard trails.

Taking a ferry ride -- maybe from the vineyards to Chillon, etc. You can take bicycles onto the ferry for a fee of about 5 chf.

Visiting the town of Lutry, with its preserved (and well posted) medieval core.

Taking the train into the hills that begin the mountains of the Berner Oberland -- explore the villages of Chateau d'Oex, Gruyeres, Rougemont, Rosseniere, Gstaad, & Saanen.

However, if you think you've had enough of Lake Geneva after visiting your family there, you could easily take the TGV to Bern and connect to Spiez, Thun, or Brienz. I don't know as much about these locations (I usually ski when I'm there!), but obviously there are ferry rides, many walks around the lakes, bike rentals (the tourist office will have lots of suggestions), and of course many excursions into the mountains & mountaintops. There is a castle in Spiez and one in Thun.

Let us know if you'd like more information!

s

Sandav-

We will stay two nights in one of the towns you mention. Are all of the daytrips you mentioned doable by train or would it be better to have a car?

ps.

Here's a link to my photos at Yahoo -- you'll see Montreux, Morges, the Lavaux, maybe one of Chateau d'Oex, & Saanen. Excuse the photos of food -- those are for an inside joke -- Cut & paste the link.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/swanda...2000/my_photos

stillhouse, I usually use the trains for all these excursions. In fact, I think a car would be a hinderance (cycling, wine-tasting, & ferry rides, for instance). I've rented a car on only two of 13 Swiss trips, and regretted it both times. To make train travel more convenient, I print out schedules of my proposed itineraries (going & returning), and of course I pack as light as I can.

s

Thanks for all the suggestions. Does anyone have any recommendations for specific hotels?
Sara

If it were me, I'd want to see a part of Switzerland that isn't French.. since you will be in Paris. I would recommend you go to Ticino... the Italian/Swiss province in the south. Locarno is very family friendly. Lago Maggiore is beautiful!! We like to stay at La Palma Au Lac, which is right on the lakefront.
Carol

Hi nino_sara,

I'll be glad to suggest hotels, but I'd prefer to do it for a specific town -- and budget range.

s

swandav, I'm still undecided, though I've heard a lot of nice things about Montreux. As for a price range, I'm thinking about $200/night. Thanks!

I hope it's okay that I'm jumping on here.

We are going to be going to Geneva (or near) next month (this month tomorrow- oh no!) for a week before going down to Tuscany with our two small boys. It's a last minute change of plans in order to pick up our car in Geneva, but I'm really excited as this area seems beautiful! Swandav2000- the things you have told nico-sara are really helpful to me too. I'm really looking for the same things- nice parks and/or lakes and areas to just relax and enjoy the beauty of the area. I'm wondering if you know of any villa type places near or in Geneva, rather than a hotel? We have the same price range as Nico-Sara but would like to have separate bedrooms and the ability to cook some on our own.

www.vevey.ch
www.montreux.ch

Are town tourist websites with hotel listings in all categories.

Swandav-Thanks for the link to your photos. Vevey looks pretty and I really liked Thun. I'm now wondering if I should skip Vevey/Montreux and go on to Lake Thun.

Oh S' **sigh**

I know I've seen these before but, YIKES. And those food photos are no joke!

The bike path brought back memories.

Hi All!

nico_sara,

Here are some hotels you may want to consider:

Your preferred price range, $200, converts to about 232 chf today at Oanda.

These hotels are above your preferred price range, but they're special, I think. You may be able to get a deal from them if you e-mail them directly -- so I'm gonna go ahead and include them.

Palace Eden au Lac (the "Palace" is a new addition -- makes me giggle), a four-star right on the lakefront promenade in Montreux. Features Belle Epoque furnishings. I've stayed here twice and really enjoyed being able to watch the parade on the promenade from my hotel balcony. One year I got to watch the city's gardeners as they made their sculptures. Prices range 300-480 chf, website at www.edenmontreux.ch.

The Fleur du Lac, a four-star right on the promenade in Morges. Had lunch here but haven't stayed here; the brochure I have features modern-comfortable decor. Rooms run 245-405 chf, website at www.fleur-du-lac.ch.

Hotel du Lac, a four-star right at the lake in La Tour de Peilz, near Vevey. Great location & rooms look cute. Rates are 260-480 chf, website at www.bestwestern.ch (then look for Vevey or Lake Geneva).

The Ermitage, right on the lake in Clarens, a suburb of Montreux. This place calls itself "a restaurant with rooms" and has only seven rooms. It has no rating but is *about* the equivalent of a three-star. Rooms are very very cozy and sweet, but not overdone. I stayed here once with my mother but we never got any sleep because the diners in the restaurant below were so loud. Rates run 200-300 chf, website at www.ermitage-montreux.com.

This hotel is at the very edge of your price range --

Hotel du Mont Blanc au Lac, a three star right at the lake in Morges. Rooms look very nice, rates are 230 chf/double. Website at www.bestwestern.ch (then search for Morges or Lake Geneva).

These hotels are in your range --

Hostellerie Bon Rivaz, a three star at the lake in La Tour de Peilz. Again, rooms look great (this hotel is featured here at Fodors). Rates run 190-230 chf & website is www.bon-rivage.ch.

Hotel Masson, a huge favorite here. Rooms look overly flowery to me -- It's a few blocks from the lake and about a 20-minute walk to Montreux. Rates run 170-250 chf, website at www.hotelmasson.ch.

TheGastons -- I've always stayed at hotels in this area, but I do have it in mind to stay at an apartment one day. I've looked at www.interhome.com, and they have four or five properties in the Clarens-Territet area. They may have something closer to Geneva --? Or you can look at www.bnb.ch, which is the association of Swiss B&B owners (you deal with the owners directly). Hope this helps!

stillhouse, I really can't tell if you should do one or the other -- far too personal of a decsion for ME to make! Of course, I always go to Montreux, my favorite. So I won't advise you to skip it!

Hey Grasshopper, I know. I looked at those photos again and decided instantly to re-do that same trip -- 4 on Leman and then 3 in Saanen. It was sooooooo nice! No language school this time, but I think I'll try out Villeneuve as a base. If I can manage to stay healthy & atm-enabled, I'll be able to do some of those bike rides I didn't get to on that trip.

Or I could go to Locarno.

Who knows?

s

For US$200 a night, you won’t get a lot of luxury in Switzerland, it is pretty expensive. You will find some perfectly nice 3 star hotels in that range. If you want to splurge a bit more, look at some of the hotels at lhw.com and slh.com as well as some of the Relais & Chateau properties at http://www.relaischateaux.com/.

With regard to the Fleur de Lac mentioned above, I inspected some of the rooms there about 2 weeks ago, and thought they were very basic and a bit old. I opted not to stay there for our family vacation in June (I live in Zurich and was doing some recco on hotels in the area). I believe it is above your budget, so you aren’t missing much if you don’t stay there.

I loved the Hermitage in Clarens, specifically their largest junior suite, which has big balcony and a tub with a beautiful lake view! I think most of the rooms are above your budget but certainly worth a look. It is a great location right on the lake and it feels like a private house, not a hotel. I agree it could be noisy in very warm weather as there is no air con.

A hotel within your budget would be the Château D’Ouchy in Lausanne, which is in a old castle. It is right on the water. I have not seen the rooms but I understand some are better than others. Take a look at chateaudouchy.ch.

The range of places to see in Switzerland is quite amazing. I suggest you get some old guidebooks from a library and do some reading on the regions, figure out what interests you and then post an itinerary. Everyone has their particular favourites and you will be swayed each time you read another glowing post about another beautiful area of this country. No one has even yet mentioned the Engadine. . . .

Cicerone,

I have to ask! Where did your family decide to stay for June? Or are you still deciding??

s

The most beautiful place I have ever seen has to be Interlaken in Switzerland. The train ride into town from Lausanne was heavenly..

I have to confess that I currently have two bookings: one at the Ermitage in Clarens and one at the Trois Couronnes in Vevey. My sister-in-law wants the Trois Couronnes as there is a spa and a pool, and with her two kids she wants a pool in case we get a day of bad weather (possible in early June), plus being right in Vevey it is a bit easier to get to the train station and ferries, etc. My brother is a total food nut and wants to stay at the Ermitage, and I love the rooms, views and ambience there. We are still debating it. I have not stayed at the Trois Coronnes, but did see the rooms and they are very nice. However, if this were purely my decision, I would pick the Ermitage, but I can see my sister-in-law’s point. . .

Cicerone,

Thanks for the info! I know you all will have a great time, no matter where you stay! Have a wonderful vacation!

s